Choosing a Data Access Layer for Silverlight 3

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll probably remember my pithy blog post where I stated that “It all depends…” to the question “Which Data Access Should I Use for Silverlight 3?” The reality is that much like the similar question I am confronted with at user groups for the past decade (“What data access should I use in my .NET app?”). The reasons for picking a strategy are wide and varied so I will not try to analyze all possible outcomes, but I think the different strategies need to be explained better.

The three major candidates in Silverlight 3 are Web Services (WCF/ASMX), ADO.NET Data Services and RIA Services. In any situation, any of these will work. But they are suited to different styles and requirements. Here’s the abridged differences between the stacks: